Biopsychological factors involved in the experience of mothers’ perinatal grief in El Salvador

Abstract

Perinatal grief is the emotional process afterwards the involuntary loss of a baby, either during the gestation, labor or after birth. This experience is usually misunderstood by society, invisibilizing and disavowing the problem and the pain that comes with it (Cassidy et al., 2018; Melo Ledermann, 2020). For this reason, we sought to understand the implication of biopsychosocial factors in the experience of salvadoran mothers’ perinatal grief, guided by the question: How are biopsychosocial factors involved in the experience of mothers’ perinatal grief? In order to accomplish this, the research approach started from three categories: biological, psychological, and social factors. Each category corresponds to a specific objective of this investigation. A qualitative methodology with a phenomenological and cross-sectional design was selected. In order to collect the information, the researchers used the in-depth interview technique and a semi-structured interview script as well. It was found that each element immersed in this experience can turn into a protective or risk factor, influencing the way the mother will go through grief. Likewise, it is necessary to psychoeducate women, couples, families, health personnel and the population in general, so that mothers integrate this experience into their history and give it meaning.